“The president is investing a lot in this mission [viagem]”, said the president of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, spoke for around 45 minutes, by phone, this Thursday (22). According to Palácio do Planalto, the two discussed the possible expansion of bilateral cooperation in areas such as defense, trade, health, energy and science and technology. They also addressed the exploration of critical minerals and rare earths and the production of biofuels.
All topics of common interest should be explored in depth during the visit that the Brazilian president will make to India between the 19th and 21st of February. Lula and his entourage’s trip is being organized by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), as part of efforts to expand commercial relations between the two countries and, consequently, promote the sale of Brazilian products and attract more investments. The meeting coincides with negotiations to expand the Mercosur-India agreement.
“The president is investing a lot in this mission [viagem]”, said the president of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana, during a press conference in which he spoke about the procedures for implementing the commercial partnership agreement that political representatives from Mercosur and the European Union signed last Saturday (17).
“If you ask me where I think the greatest potential for growth in Brazil’s foreign trade lies, I will answer without fear of making mistakes: India”, commented Viana.
He pointed out that Brazilian exports to the country of around 1.45 billion inhabitants (a number more than six times greater than the Brazilian population) still have a lot of room to grow.
In 2025, Brazil purchased almost US$8.5 billion in Indian products. Brazilian exports to India totaled US$7 billion. And they focused mainly on oil (30%); sugar and molasses (15%); vegetable fat and oils (14%) and iron ore (6%).
“We want to diversify this,” said Viana, also citing Brazilian exports of fuel oil, agricultural pesticides, medicines and automobile accessories.
“Furthermore, President Lula really wants the participation of Embrapa and small agriculture to help Indians improve the productivity of small Indian rural producers, who are millions of people.”
Almost 200 Brazilian businesspeople have already expressed interest in joining the presidential delegation. “It’s going to be over. It’s only been two days since we opened registrations and the interest from the private sector is very high,” said Viana, explaining that the executives pay for their tickets and accommodation. “And part of the agenda will be with representatives of the largest Indian companies that have investments in Brazil and who will announce their investments for the next four or five years”. On that occasion, ApexBrasil will also open its office in New Delhi – the 20th spread across other countries.
*Brazil Agency
